U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are calling on Venmo to adopt policies to reimburse consumers who get scammed.
This call from the senators follows a recent decision by instant payment platform Zelle to reimburse customers who fall prey to imposter scams.
“We write to ask you to adopt new policies to reimburse consumers who get scammed on Venmo and that you make it easier for users to report when they have been scammed,” the senators wrote to Alex Chriss, the CEO of PayPal, which owns Venmo. “We are extremely concerned that instant payment platforms are not taking reasonable, commonsense, and proactive steps to protect their customers. Venmo must provide a safe platform for American consumers – who deserve a payments system that provides them with speed and convenience, but above all, that keeps their money safe.”
In June, the senators called on Venmo to do more to address fraudulent activity taking place on the app and asked officials what the company was doing to protect its customers from fraud.
The senators also wrote to Brian Grassadonia, the CEO of Cash App, outlining similar concerns. Specifically, they expressed concern over Cash App’s low reimbursement rate for unauthorized payments.